Events

Thanks to everybody who joined us for our Big Day Out at the Brewery and on our Seafarer’s Tour of Kinnegarland.

We’re all part of a seismic shift in the balance of the beer world. No longer the exclusive remit of big, anonymous corporations, brewing is now a craft that exists at local level and enriches small communities.

We’re thrilled to have raised €1600 for Pieta House to help support suicide awareness and prevention.

Lovely to welcome our Inishowen neighbours, Boghopper Brewery from Muff, who joined us for the day and also served their beer in aid of this excellent charity. Generous contributions also came from Irish Premium Oysters who donated the freshest of fresh Donegal oysters to accompany the local beer and our homemade soft drinks.

Fed on the sublime grilled cheese sandwiches from Scarpello & Co and entertained by DJ artists Turn It On, the afternoon at K2 had a leisurely and relaxed ambience. A phenomenal preview performance from one of this year’s Earagail Arts Festival highlights, Basork, brought the curtain down on the day.

Thanks to the Local Enterprise Office who supported the nationwide initiative not only financially but also with great spirit and enthusiasm. Not the least of their contribution was John Soffe, the photographer who documented the Big Day Out so well.

Our Seafarer’s Tour had to make do with an amateur-driven dying smart phone but the Great Arch graciously makes any photographer look respectable. We were blessed with decent weather and great company from the eclectic mix of voyagers and our trusty captain and mate, Niall and Angela. What a beautiful place Kinnegarland is.

Indie Beer Week kicks off tomorrow across the country and the countdown continues to our Big Day Out at the Brewery. Here are some nuts and bolts:

You’ll find K2 in the Ballyraine Industrial Estate. It looks quite different to the idyllic setting of K1 that you see on our Facebook masthead at the moment. That just makes the surprise all the better when you go inside!

The event kicks off at 2pm and runs until a punctual finish at 8pm. It’s a drop-in event — you don’t need to be there from start to finish so fit it into your day as suits you best.

Brewery tours will run every half hour or so and you can put your name on the list for the tour of your choice when you arrive. Children will be treated to Rick’s special Kid’s Brewery Tour — not to be missed. We’ll probably run this twice during the afternoon.

As well as beer, we’ll be serving homemade soft drinks including some highly experimental shrubs.

Food will be available thoughout the afternoon — Scarpello & Co’s grilled cheese sandwiches as well as fresh oysters.

Just as the drinks menu nears completion for our Big Day Out at the Brewery next Saturday, the musical menu has now taken proper shape.

Turn It On play music everywhere it’s needed — including K2! They’ll entertain us from around 3–5pm. A community of music lovers, Turn It On run vinyl nights and DJ events, festivals and parties.

Shortly after 6pm we’ll be treated to a special preview performance from one of the artists performing at this year’s Earagail Arts Festival. The 10-piece Basork fusion group will fill K2 with Balkan-Irish sounds in what promises to be a lively curtain-closer to the big day.

Indie Beer Week Ireland kicks off on Friday next, 23 June and runs until Sunday 2 July. Throughout the country, 27 independent Irish breweries will invite their local communities to visit them for special events to discover where and how real beer is made.

Ever seen the Kinnegar from the sea? Or wondered where Scraggy Bay is? Any ideas on Limeburner, Otway or the Devil’s Backbone?

As part of Indie Beer Week Ireland, we’re going on a brewery boat trip of Kinnegarland on Rathmullan’s favourite charter boat, the Swilly Explorer. We’ll cruise up the Swilly to see as many of Kinnegarland’s landmarks as we can find, tasting a little of each beer as we go.

The tour departs the pontoon in Rathmullan at 5pm on Wednesday 28 June. Places are very limited and are available on a first come, first served basis. The boat trip costs €20 and is of course weather permitting.

To book ring us on 074 915 8874 or 086 830 1392. You may book for a maximum of two people.

It’s finally time to pour Rule of Three, the beer we brewed in late November in collaboration with our pals at Siphon Brewing. The event, Smaakdown17, takes place at Siphon Brewing’s home, the renowned Siphon restaurant on the banks of the canal 10km from Bruges.

So what does “Siphon” mean? A quick look at the criss-crossing landscape of canals and country roads outside the brewery door provides a clue. An equally quick bit of research confirms our host Breandán Kearney’s explanation. “When water has to be carried across a road which is at the same level as or below the canal bottom, an inverted siphon is used instead of a culvert. The siphon effect.”

And in the canals? According to the Michelin Guide “People come to this restaurant from around the Flemish countryside to enjoy the house speciality, eel, as well as their grilled dishes.”

So saltwater, sweet water, hares and eels combine this Friday evening for Smaakdown17 near the picturesque village of Damme in Belgium. On Saturday you’ll find it at the Bruges Beer Festival. We can’t wait.

To all those of you who have been trying to get your Christmas presents sorted in good time, our most humble apologies. We do admit that it’s tough buying your beer-loving loved one a brewing course when the dates for it aren’t even set. Now they are!

Saturday 22 & Sunday 23 April 2017

You’ll find full details about the Academy here. And this is what some of our hard-working participants have had to say about their experience of past Academies:

Thanks again for a wonderful weekend, the course exceeded all my expectations and it truly nice to know that everyone in your brewery seems to be warm, humorous, humble and passionate in their craft which makes me happy knowing my hard earned cash is going to a good place and not just some evil bastards who want to make a stack of cash.AG, Spring 2016 (Bucket & Spade)

It was absolutely fantastic! It was such an eyeopener to the science and hard graft that goes into brewing at such a big scale. Rick, you did well to keep talking the whole 2 days. Your throat must be killing today… But everything you said was insightful!JC, Autumn 2015 (Flying Saucer)

Have to say I really enjoyed the whole weekend and was sorry I had to take off before the first sparge. I was looking forward to cleaning out the mash, honestly.DL, Autumn 2015 (Flying Saucer)

The combination of theory and practice was not only hugely informative, but thoroughly enjoyable and if anyone thought that brewing craft beer was easy, they only had to be with Kevin and you on the Sunday to see the time and effort it takes to create a masterpiece.JK, Autumn 2016 (Bucket Brigade)

I enjoyed the weekend immensely. What with Rathmullan’s splendid accommodation and food; the guys’ great company and your own lucid tutoring I am so glad I made the trip.EW, Autumn 2015 (Flying Saucer)

And of course the prescient email we received from Ben Tyler in December 2015:

Hi Rick,
How did the beer taste today, are we on to a gold medal?
Kind regards,
Ben

One Dublin Beer Cup gold medal and a Beoir “Champion Beer of Ireland” award later, the true value of a place on the Brewing Academy becomes clear!

Midsummer’s day. But only the beginning of summer for everybody here at Kinnegar. On top of a non-stop brewing schedule and our usual weekly labours, the next 12 weeks are crammed full of brewery tours and festivals.

Regular Wednesday and Saturday brewery tours kick off on Wednesday 6 July and we’ll be on tour for five festivals over the course of the summer (see details here).